Oedipus Journal #3

To what extent would you agree that plot should be valued more highly than style in the work. In your answer you should refer to two or three works you have studied.

I agree with the statement that the plot should be more highly valued than style in the the work, but i do believe that the style of book is also very important. In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The plot and the style of Zora Neale Hurston are both important but I believe that the plot is ultimately what makes a person like the book or not. Her dialogue in the story is very important in helping the reader understand the book. "Dat sho is de truth, now" (40). Its southern accent helps to increase the book's authenticity and helps a reader to be able to imagine what is is really like in that time period and understand the culture. She also uses a lot literary techniques which helps a reader to use their senses and understand the text better. I really did like the book, but in the end the plot led me to not like the book as much. I believe that during the book Janie is trying to find a sense of independance and she finds that with Tea Cake, but in the end he dies. That i believe that, although it does not ruin the book, it puts a damper on it.

In Oedipus, I like that the author writes the book as a play and I like that style about him. This effects the way I think about the book but, That is not the reason I like the story so far. I liked the plot and that they need to find the murderer in order to save Thebes. Though when iI read about his fate, it made me not like the story as much. "It is my fat-I must make love with my own mother, shed my fathers blood with my own hands."(1090-1092). This makes me not like the book as much. The fact that he must sleep with his mother is weird and unnescesary to make a good play. Thie plot is what ultimately draws a reader in and keeps them connected to the book. The style is important in helping you understand the text, but a person is going to base their opinion whether they like the book more on the plot than on the style in which it is written.